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Hello, Engineers! The day has come—Space Engineers 2 Alpha has officially launched on Steam Early Access! After months of anticipation and hard work, we're excited to take this first step together. The thrilling journey of Space Engineers 2 starts now, and we invite you all to be part of it. The release of the Alpha and Vertical Slice1: Creative Mode is just the beginning—there's so much more ahead!
We're taking a unique approach to developing Space Engineers 2 with our Vertical Slice strategy. A Vertical Slice is a fully playable portion of the game that showcases specific core features and improvements implemented at production quality. It serves as a milestone in the game's development, allowing us to focus on delivering polished gameplay in stages while more features are added in subsequent slices.
Vertical Slice 1: Creative Mode
You have now access to VS1: Creative Mode, our first vertical slice, featuring:
Additional Vertical Slices will follow in the months after, each expanding the game's features and content. This development process will continue over the next few years until we achieve our full vision for Space Engineers 2.
You can explore everything included in the detailed Changelog.
Forging the Future Together
But first let's talk openly and honestly about the Space Engineers 2 Alpha—the word "Alpha" is really important. Releasing Space Engineers 2 in such an early stage of development isn't just a milestone for us; it's a deliberate choice. It reflects our commitment to transparency, collaboration, and building something incredible together with our players.
We're just as excited about Space Engineers 2 as you are. We couldn't wait for you to get your hands on it and see what amazing creations you'll dream up within this new chapter of the Space Engineers universe. Your creativity inspires us, and we know the game will truly shine as you begin to explore, experiment, and push its boundaries.
We've seen firsthand the power of a great symbiosis with our community. Space Engineers 1 was shaped, refined, and elevated by your ideas, feedback, and passion. You push us to try harder, aim higher, and get further. Without your voices, Space Engineers would have been a much different game. That same spirit is what drives us today.
An early release like this brings enormous advantages—not just for us, but for you. We get the opportunity to test ideas, uncover hidden challenges, and innovate beyond our limits. You get to experience and shape the development firsthand, influence its direction, and witness the evolution of the game from the ground up.
That said, let's be honest. If you're not ready for an unpolished experience, this may not be the right time to jump in. If you prefer to "plug in and play," we encourage you to wishlist, sign up for our newsletter, follow the development, and wait for future updates when the game becomes more feature-complete. As a reminder, here's the Roadmap, so you can see where we're headed and decide the best time to hop on this journey.
However, if you're excited about shaping the future of Space Engineers 2 with us—visit our Store, our Support Portal and get involved!
View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source
We're taking a unique approach to developing Space Engineers 2 with our Vertical Slice strategy. A Vertical Slice is a fully playable portion of the game that showcases specific core features and improvements implemented at production quality. It serves as a milestone in the game's development, allowing us to focus on delivering polished gameplay in stages while more features are added in subsequent slices.
![](https://www.techpowerup.com/img/JeH5kP7zbiCf6kIJ_thm.jpg)
![](https://www.techpowerup.com/img/GwnHhv5voQIysBu3_thm.jpg)
![](https://www.techpowerup.com/img/NlDYx9TO9ohOgjbp_thm.jpg)
Vertical Slice 1: Creative Mode
You have now access to VS1: Creative Mode, our first vertical slice, featuring:
- new 25 cm unified grid system (no more small vs. large grids!)
- new blueprint building (snap to grid, partial copy/paste, assign to toolbar)
- grid undo/redo
- enhanced creative mode with powerful building tools (new voxel hand, symmetry tools, line/plane building) and paint tool
- grid speeds up to ~300 m/s
- safe speed system preventing damage under 20 m/s
- new magboots with camera stabilization
- new physics and dynamic fractures and debris for more realistic destruction
- visual revolution thanks to ray tracing, global illumination, tessellated terrain, parallax mapping, sleek armor edges, and enhanced lighting
- New VRAGE3 engine brings better performance and future optimization potential
Additional Vertical Slices will follow in the months after, each expanding the game's features and content. This development process will continue over the next few years until we achieve our full vision for Space Engineers 2.
You can explore everything included in the detailed Changelog.
![](https://www.techpowerup.com/img/ukSd08jDtRQHDC0v_thm.jpg)
Forging the Future Together
But first let's talk openly and honestly about the Space Engineers 2 Alpha—the word "Alpha" is really important. Releasing Space Engineers 2 in such an early stage of development isn't just a milestone for us; it's a deliberate choice. It reflects our commitment to transparency, collaboration, and building something incredible together with our players.
We're just as excited about Space Engineers 2 as you are. We couldn't wait for you to get your hands on it and see what amazing creations you'll dream up within this new chapter of the Space Engineers universe. Your creativity inspires us, and we know the game will truly shine as you begin to explore, experiment, and push its boundaries.
We've seen firsthand the power of a great symbiosis with our community. Space Engineers 1 was shaped, refined, and elevated by your ideas, feedback, and passion. You push us to try harder, aim higher, and get further. Without your voices, Space Engineers would have been a much different game. That same spirit is what drives us today.
An early release like this brings enormous advantages—not just for us, but for you. We get the opportunity to test ideas, uncover hidden challenges, and innovate beyond our limits. You get to experience and shape the development firsthand, influence its direction, and witness the evolution of the game from the ground up.
![](https://www.techpowerup.com/img/VOTAzaGGZ47zOrpQ_thm.jpg)
That said, let's be honest. If you're not ready for an unpolished experience, this may not be the right time to jump in. If you prefer to "plug in and play," we encourage you to wishlist, sign up for our newsletter, follow the development, and wait for future updates when the game becomes more feature-complete. As a reminder, here's the Roadmap, so you can see where we're headed and decide the best time to hop on this journey.
However, if you're excited about shaping the future of Space Engineers 2 with us—visit our Store, our Support Portal and get involved!
View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source